Only 30 days remain to be counted in the 2020 Census

Data collection by the U.S. Census Bureau will end on Sept. 30, and the Bureau is encouraging everyone in Wyoming who has put off self-responding to respond between now, the final deadline to be counted is Sept. 30.  

Currently, the State of Wyoming has a 79.2% total response rate, which includes self-response and the Nonresponse Follow-up operation. A complete and accurate count is vital to all Wyomingites. If households are not counted, Wyoming could miss out on its share of hundreds of billions of dollars in federal funding.

Responding to the 2020 Census is vital and it’s the law. According to the Census Bureau, the census provides critical data that lawmakers, business owners, teachers, and many others use to provide daily services, products, and support for you and your community. Every year, billions of dollars in federal funding go to hospitals, fire departments, schools, roads, and other resources based on census data. Percentages of those funds could be lost to those entities if a complete count is not accomplished.

Census takers are actively working in Wyoming and visiting households that have not yet responded to the 2020 Census. In most cases, census workers will make multiple attempts at each housing unit to count residents in that household. Census takers will be wearing masks and are trained in social distancing protocols and other health and safety guidance. If no one is home at the time of the visit, the census taker will leave a notice of visit, which includes information on how the household can self-respond to the census.

In addition to census takers in the field, the Census Bureau is using additional ways to collect responses to the 2020 Census.  Census takers have been trained to call some households that have not yet responded and leave a voicemail if no one answers. The Census Bureau has also sent out a seventh mailing, which includes an additional paper questionnaire to households that receive mail at a physical address.

The Census Bureau’s Mobile Questionnaire Assistance (MQA) program is also visiting locations across Wyoming to encourage and assist people to self-respond to the 2020 Census. MQA representatives have visited grocery stores, food banks, libraries, unemployment offices, back-to-school events, and houses of worship. The goal is to reach people at locations where they naturally congregate to assist with completing questionnaires and answer questions that the public may have. 

Even though census takers are working in the field, it is not too late to self-respond to the 2020 Census and limit the chances of a census taker visiting your home. 

Wyomingites can respond online at 2020census.gov, by phone at 844-330-2020, or by mailing back the paper form that was delivered to the household. The online and phone portals are available in 13 languages. In addition, 59 non-English languages are supported through online video guides.

The Census Bureau has a statutory deadline to deliver apportionment data by December 31, 2020. The mission of the bureau is to count everyone only once and in the right place. 

For more information and for additional assistance, please visit 2020census.gov.